In a conventional, well known image processing technique employing a so-called pipeline system, processing is performed in a plurality of processing units connected in series by dividing a single frame of image data into regions of a predetermined size, performing processing on each of the divided regions in each processing unit, and then transmitting the processed data to the next processing unit (see JP2000-312327A). With the image processing technique described in JP2000-312327A, processing is performed on a single divided region sequentially in each processing unit, and when the processing of a final processing unit is complete, the data in the next divided region are input into the first processing unit.